Matt Robertson found himself in unfamiliar territory after the first round of match play in the Chattanooga TPC at Council Fire on Friday—the second round.

Despite claiming a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in five of the last seven TPCs he’s played, Robertson has never known what it was like to play in the second round. But Friday was a different story. His long streak of futility came to an end when Robertson, the No. 2 seed, outlasted No. 15 Jay Potter in 19 holes.

Robertson might well have been an upset victim again had Potter not pushed his approach at the par-5 18^th hole into the woods. That led to a bogey, Robertson made par and the match went to sudden death.

At No. 1, the first playoff hole, Robertson drove into the left rough, and Potter ripped a driver down the left side of the fairway. It appeared to be advantage Potter, but Robertson quickly found his ball in the rough and hit a 58-degree wedge to within two-and-a-half feet. Potter hit his approach to 10 feet and putted first, his ball just staying right of the hole.

Robertson sized up his putt for a second or two and pulled the trigger. The ball hit the back of the cup and dove to the bottom for a birdie. And Robertson was into the second round for the first time ever.

“This was a big step for me,” Robertson said. “It was huge for my confidence to finally win my first match and advance.”

Brandon Cissom, along with Robertson the co-medalist in Thursday's stroke play qualifying, also advanced as a No. 1 seed with a hard-fought  2 and 1 victory over multiple winner Pat Corey.

Other players advancing out of Friday’s first round included Richard Spangler, 3 and 2 over Tim Crawford; Jacob Clark, a 3 and 2 winner over Jimmy White; Mitch Hufstetler, who beat Bob Rice, 3 and 1; Chris Schmidt, a 4 and 2 winner over Gary Baker; Tom Schreiner, a 2 and 1 winner over Sam Bedwell, and Brendon Wilson, who defeated Winston Brown, 7 and 6.

Cissom matched Robertson’s stroke-play round of 69 and earned the No. 1 seed, but he had struggled on Thursday to find the fairway with his driver.  Normally one of the longest and straightest drivers in the Chattanooga area, Cissom wasn’t overly concerned about his swing.

“I didn’t try anything differently,” Cissom said. “I just let it work itself out. I didn’t want to start thinking too much about it.

Cissom returned to form on Friday. Corey shot two-under par through 17 holes but Cissom closed out the match early behind five birdies and an eagle.

After making birdies at No. 1 and 2, Cissom had all the cushion he would need. Corey won No. 3, but he was never able to get closer.

“It never got to 4-up, and it never got to 1-up,” Cissom said. “Pat played great and kept battling.”

Cissom added two more front-nine birdies (No. 5, No. 9), and after an eagle at the par-5 13^th, he was pretty much in control. A final birdie at No. 16 essentially ended the match.